City Council approves new horse carriage regulations

Stephanie McMeans, standing left, and Emily Benson, standing right, celebrate after the San Antonio City Council votes to approve new regulations for the horse carriage industry, Thursday, August 1, 2013. In back are animal rights activist that wanted the city to ban the practice.

Photo By JERRY LARA/San Antonio Express-News

Horse carriage industry supporters celebrate in the background as local member of the Human Society Shari Person protest after the San Antonio City Council votes to approve new regulations for the horse carriage industry, Thursday, August 1, 2013.

Photo By JERRY LARA/San Antonio Express-News

Horse carriage drivers celebrate after the San Antonio City Council votes to approve new regulations for the horse carriage industry, Thursday, August 1, 2013. In back are animal rights activist that wanted the city to ban the practice.

Photo By Abbey Oldham / San Antonio Express-News

Noah Tillman-Young, head trainer at the Yellow Rose and HRH stables in San Antonio, brushes Eli. A reader contrasts the treatment of carriage horses to those on his family farm when he was growing up.

Sam Wells of Bluebonnet Carriage takes people on a horse-drawn ride in front of the Alamo.

Pemberton waits for riders as Bluebonnet Carriage's Sam Wells strolls by near the Alamo.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News

Barbara White of San Antonio, the barn manager at the Yellow Rose and HRH stables in San Antonio, brushes a horse on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The City Council will vote Thursday whether or not to change horse-drawn carriage regulations.

Photo By Mike Fisher

New regulations being considered by the City Council would allow companies to work horses under hotter temperatures and with shorter breaks. San Antonio already has looser restrictions on carriage horses than many other cities, some of which are shown below.

Photo By Abbey Oldham / San Antonio Express-News

Carriage horses in San Antonio could find themselves working in higher temperatures and with shorter breaks under new rules.

Photo By Abbey Oldham/San Antonio Express-News

Barbara White of San Antonio, the barn manager at the Yellow Rose and HRH stables in San Antonio, brushes a horse on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

Photo By Abbey Oldham/San Antonio Express-News

Stephanie McMeans of San Antonio sits in a carriage led by Jed in downtown San Antonio on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The San Antonio City Council will vote Thursday whether or not to change regulations on carriage horses.

Photo By BOB OWEN/EN

9. HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE RIDE: Take in downtown at a leisurely, Old West pace. The horse poop is a bonus.

Marisela Martinez of Lone Star Carriage takes passengers on a ride through downtown as Rocky, a Clydesdale, waits for riders.

The City Council approved new regulations for the horse carriage industry at its Thursday meeting that will keep most working conditions for horses the same while decreasing their maximum workday length from 10 hours to eight hours.

The new regulations also mandate a 16-hour break between shifts for the horses.

At its June 20 meeting, the City Council considered different regulations that would have allowed harsher working conditions for horses by raising their maximum working temperature from 95 degrees to 96 degrees and splitting their break time between rides in half, from 10 minutes to five minutes.

After some council members expressed reservations about the regulations, city health and police officials reviewed the regulations with a veterinarian, Dr. Benjamin Espy, during the council's July recess. After comparing San Antonio regulations to those of other cities, they decided to keep the temperature limit and break times the same and lower the maximum workday length.

“I wasn't fond at all of the proposed changes we had a month ago, and I think these are an improvement,” Mayor Julián Castro said.

Outside council chambers after the vote, members of the horse carriage industry were jubilant.

“This is a great day for working horses in San Antonio,” said Fran Dalros, owner of Lollypop Carriage Co. “Because they can't say that themselves, I want to say that for them.”